DIY Painted Rug Inspired by West Elm

5 Materials

$20

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE area rugs! They instantly change the way a space looks, and are an easy {and temporary} way to add color or pattern to a room. However, if you are on a tight budget {like us} then you may quickly realize that the area rug you want is out of your price range, boooooo. But then that’s the beauty of DIY, am I right? You can find a style you like and then re-create it in a way that reflects your personality, without spending a ton of money. One day while browsing the West Elm website I came across the Phoenix Wool Dhurrie rug and instantly fell in love. The geometric/navajo pattern was fun, simple, classic and modern all rolled into one. It seemed perfect for our dining room! Of course the price tag was a bit steep for us so I decided to create my own version using it as my inspiration. The total cost of my rug? Just $20! You can view the full post and photos on my blog.

DIY Painted Rug: Before photo: I purchased a plain 5x7 remnant area rug for $20 at Home Depot {You can also find them at Lowes}. These rugs can be random in color and sizes available, but can generally be found near the decorative area rugs - maybe 1 or 2 aisles over. They are already bound but are labeled as remnant rugs :)

I created the shape templates I wanted to use and printed them out on cardstock paper. Each shape took up a few sheets of paper each since I had enlarged them.

I taped the sheets of paper together so that I could cut them out as one large shape.

Here is my paper template cut out.

Afterwards I traced the paper template onto cardboard and then cut that out, this way I would have a more sturdy template to use and trace around.

I measured out where I wanted the pattern to go and began tracing around the templates with a sharpie.

I then painted in the shapes with some custom mixed navy paint using foam brushes. I had mixed fabric medium into the paint as well. I put an old tablecloth underneath the rug to make sure none of the paint seeped through.

Here is the rug with all of the shapes painted in. I had actually gone over the shapes a second time once it had dried.

Once the paint was dry I then went back over the edges of the shapes with some custom mixed turquoise paint.

Afterwards you will want to spray your rug with fabric protector. Here is a close up of my finished rug.

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Bravo on this superb job! I love the awesome colors and the design. This is definitely a great idea for a plain old rug. I love it ! Thanks for sharing this awesome idea! Keep on DIY'ing..oh yeah 😉😊💖👌👍👍